molan

I know a man who really, really, knows his strings - he's been making and selling them, mostly for La Bella, for something like 40 years. He reckons the only difference it's likely to make is that it make some strings die faster, or break, and that with flats it can actually make them sound completely lifeless and dead (which decent flats should not sound like!) because it enhances string twisting unless you are super careful winding on. Given his heritage of working with classic flats for such a long time I was genuinely surprised at how passionate he was about not stringing through the body. He said there was a modern trend amongst some lower end instrument makers to offer through body stringing to try make out some sort of heritage link but their bridges were really not up to the job and destroyed strings. La Bella do make a bespoke string for through-body stringing now but he still maintained it wouldn't sound remotely different but they had to make some to meet customer demand.

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1398544863' post='2435183'] It's riddled with errors but it means we'll This month's interview with Field. [/quote] Is this part of your audition piece to be a journalist for them Sorry, couldn't resist - we all get caught out by over-zealous spell checkers from time to time. . .

I think the best Nasser is probably Hussein

I swapped my Berg AE112's for SL112's and definitely preferred them. I found the Bergs a bit boomy on certain stages and if pushed into tight corners (which is where I often end up). Part of the attraction was the 20% weight saving too The SL's are still my personal favourites of all,the neo loaded 1x12 cabs. I really like the CN's as well but find they sound significantly nicer in pairs whereas, to my ears, the SL's sound good both singly and paired up. I'm actually currently using an AE210 for most gigs simply because it's a great 'form factor' for me. Mine is vertical aligned and it brings the 2nd speaker up to a nice height and puts out a lot of bottom end for such a shallow cab. The lack of cabinet depth means it's great in really tight spaces. Having said all of this my favourite single cab solution would be a CN212. I love these cabs but they are just a fraction too bulky for the kind of gigs I'm playing. I wish Aguilar would bring out an SL212, I think that could be a killer cab!

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1398521551' post='2434943'] I think we need a UK company to start building hand made, point to point amps, not just aimed at the big tube amps. It would be worth the premium. Totally OT there, sorry. [/quote] Spoke to someone recently about this - opening estimate was £30K of R&D costs to get something fully operational, patented and approved for operation across EU and into production with high quality components and chassis. . .

I agree with lots of the above, if I wanted a simple one cab solution that would cover any gig then the CN212 would be my first choice. I currently use an AE210 and I love the physical size of this cab. I'd love to hear a CN version of a 210!

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1398459476' post='2434464'] Been happily using the BX500 for over a year now and love it. You folks must play in some VERY loud bands if you need all that extra power! Service from Bass Gear is brilliant as well (although I've not bumped into Barrie in my 3 trips there so far)! [/quote] I don't actually exist - I am merely a virtual assistant. . .

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1398361186' post='2433426'] I've been trying a vibration process on the ageing Mrs Dingus lately, but she sounds just the same as ever. [/quote] Have you used a cylindrical metal pressure vessel, the internal temperature and humidity of which is controlled as the treatment process is carried out; the pressure is changed in stages. This enables the treatment process to be undertaken in a surprisingly short time. Of particular necessity during the treatment process is the precise control of temperature, humidity, and atmospheric pressure, as well as setting the optimal amount of treatment. The result of experience and expertise spanning many years are required to deliver the “sweet sound” you're looking for. More simply put - you're just not doing it right and need more practice. . .

It looks like the strap button is sitting somewhere around 15th fret? That's going to really throw the neck out to the left of the player. You generally see this on smaller bodied basses but this seems to have a 'regular' sized body. This would be a major turn-off for me as it would feel 'wrong' compared to my other instruments. Could effect balance as well

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1398346003' post='2433211'] I have a Carvin 1000W power amp (non-lightweight). It's got some intelligent features and build quality is very good. I have my doubts about support though: I sent them a straightforward query by email and it was ignored. [/quote] The pro-sound team are different from the instrument and guitar/bass amp team so I can't really say how good they are but he guitar and amp guys are great. They now have one guy who starts at something like 6AM US West Coast time so that he's available in hours that are closer to a UK working day. For general queries they would refer to a dealer to respond but, as I'm sure everyone here knows, not all dealers are that great at following up on stuff. Bass specific queries tend to get sent to BassGear (where I work part-time) because we are the only bass dedicated dealer in the country. We have supplied guitars, guitar kits and some spare parts for older amps and power amps in the past and stuff always arrives super quick. In answer to Gareth's question - they don't have a dedicated repair team in the UK. We've only ever had one warranty claim and they just sent us a replacement part and our local repair man fitted it. They used to have a UK warehouse but this has been closed down now so everything comes direct from the US.

The B1000 is very new (first ones in the Uk arrived a few weeks ago) and there aren't many reviews out there yet. At the risk of plagiarism here's what our esteemed friend above said about his B2000: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/204685-new-amp-day-carvin-b2000/ Basically the B1000 is the same but less powerful It's warmer and fuller sounding than the BX range which is a bit more 'modern' sounding. Both ranges have a little valve in the pre but they're really there to add warmth rather than to be over-driven. They're all really light weight - B2000 is 14lbs, B1000 is 6.5lbs, BX1600 is 8.5lbs and the baby BX700 is 6lbs. I could say more but, as we're the main Carvin bass retailer, I shouldn't really sing their praises too much for fear of appearing overly biased

Quick numbers analysis - our monthly newsletter had a direct link to a 'funky lefty' bass. In the interests of fairness I deliberately didn't give it a big feature picture but gave a direct link in the text (along with a lot of other basses). Th click rate of the lefty link was 1.6%, the other most similar link in the same paragraph was for a 'fretless 5' (not exactly a high traffic/demand item) and this delivered just over 5 times as much response. Of course, it's entirely possible that our general lack of lefty basses might mean our database of subscribers (which totals several thousands) is heavily skewed towards right handed players.

Very, very general theory is that alder will be a bit more rounded and warmer whilst ash will be brighter and snappier. However there's a zillion other factors involved in how an instrument finally sounds!

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1396388533' post='2413133'] one is made in indnonesia and the other japan I think? Why would someone spend an extra £3500 on a Pino CS precision when a normal Squier precision is more or less the same? I've got a japanese BB, didn't actually mean to buy it... but the quality of it makes me realise that Beedster is really really daft to sell his BB2024mx [/quote] Having played both the lower end Yamahas vs the Japanese and the Pinos against a Squier then I think the difference is even more marked with Fender than Yamaha. The basic Yamahas leave me completely cold, just a bit sterile and dead sounding compared to the Japanese ones. The Pino is a lot more in terms of price difference (it's actually about £2,750 but still a huge jump) but the Pino is, to my ears, simply the best production P bass Fender make. I've played three of them and each one has been outstanding. Of course, he old adage that costing ten times as much doesn't make it ten times better still stands but, if you can afford it, then it's a fabulous bass. Personally I'd choose a Pino over a 2024 but that partially because I just prefer the look of a Fender compared to the classic BB body shape. However I do rate the 2024 very highly - plus it has a 5 string option which you can't get from a Pino

I know a couple of people running a Monique pre-amp through an Aguilar Tone Hammer power stage. Sounds really nice and has graced a few very large stages We ran a head to head of the Demeter Minnie and the Tone Hammer (plus a low cost lightweight Carvin rack unit and a high cost, bloody heavy, 3u rack amp). The Minnie was most definitely the winner, especially at high volumes, but the Tone Hammer came very close and you effectively get the pre-amp for free vs the Minnie. For a little bit of on-stage oomph the TH350 might even do the job, it's surprisingly loud (especially into a 4ohm load).

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1398243784' post='2431918'] Just out of interest, are the Big Bang heads made in Indonesia as of now, or still Italy for the time being? [/quote] I think everything is slowly being moved over to Indonesia. I've tried a few things and made there now and I can't hear any differences and build quality seems identical so far. Obviously it's early days yet.

[quote name='leroydiamond' timestamp='1398186130' post='2431374'] The Markbass F500 is a cracking amp, and with a lot more oomph than the more common LM2/3. Within a rock setting, the F500 is probably the best micro amp I have ever used, with the ability to punch through the mix with considerable aplomb. Acres of headroom with this baby IME and superb EQ possibilities. Sadly it is no longer in production. [/quote] Have you tried the Big Bang? It's my personal favourite MB head. Seems to sit somewhere between the F500 and LMIII tonally and has a few more features than the LMIII as well. Edit - here's a review of the Big Bang that directly compares it to both heads : http://btpub.boyd-printing.com/iphone/article.php?id=1397751&id_issue=158781&src=&ref=

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1398191765' post='2431499'] Not quite sure what there isn't to like about this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ0__5muEjA His melody at 5:26 gets me every time. Si [/quote] This band, as our American friends might say, kicks some serious ass

I'm not a huge JT fan (although I do like the funkier stuff) but his bands are almost always really classy and amazing musicians. There's some great live footage out there of the band holding seriously tight funky grooves. Lots of the vocal harmony work is great as well. I've always really respected him for picking such quality musicians and, from what I've seen, insisting on always performing live

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1398099968' post='2430471'] Well, on that particular way of assessing wattage of an amp, (e.g. a test by a magazine with no proof that it is 100% correct scientifically or whether indeed that is the best way to do it anyway) yes, you'd get more RMS rated wattage with the LM2/3. What you would also get is a hard wall limiter, especially at 8 ohms, so when you hit that limiter, that is it. No power compression, just awful clipping. Also, the Markbass master volumes I've tried hit the max volume at roughly 12/1 o'clock. Lot's of manufacturers do this, to make you think you have more master left. With the LM3, I didn't have any more headroom left. Genz do it differently....eg the volume goes up gradually and you can push and push the modern amps they finished with and they will not clip. TC also do it differently. You can absolutely hammer the master volume all the way up and it will not clip...it will just get incredibly loud, and like a tube amp, it will naturally 'sag' and compress like playing through a large 8x10/SVT at high volumes. Different design goals, different tones. Wattage? Volume? The RH450 sounds louder to me. [/quote] I think Alex Claber kinda summed it up for me in an earlier discussion about TC heads and the power/loudness equation: "Just because some bassists think that doesn't make it true. If you like what the TC amp does as it runs out of power then you'll think it's loud. If you don't then you'll think it's overly compressed and lacking in deep bottom. It's just like how a lot of people think 300W valve amps are really really loud but personally I find them lacking in clean oomph. We have lots of happy customers using the TC amps but I don't recommend them universally because of the sound of their APM system. Clever technology by TC. Disappointed by their marketing" I'm firmly in the 'overly compressed and lacking in deep bottom' camp (and I'm not alone) but obviously a lot of people like their core tone and how they sound at the top of the output range - of course, it's a good think we all don't think the same way or the world would be a much duller place

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1398113780' post='2430656'] Some times it works though, I went into the music shop in dorchester, as I had an indie guitar and its pickup switch was missing and they have a lot of indies (I didn't get it there). I asked if they had switch ends, they didn't but they guy went off to search for something that would work, and eventually found one that worked from the back of the store and charged practically nothing for it. Some stores really do go the extra mile. [/quote] I've actually had this in Denmark Street on more than one occasion - odd screws missing or a washer that's come loose. I used to work around the corner and would pop in to see if they had a random part and got a few little bits and never paid for any of them